Three New Interdenominational Post-Abortion Counseling Groups (among five new ones):

1. Bloomington, Indiana
   
2. Perth, Australia
   
3. Adelaide, Australia (Interdenominational; meaning expressly designed for people of any religion or no religion)
4. St. Paul, MN (Interdenominational)
   
5. Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, Michigan (Interdenominational)

Exhale? Epilogue?

No, Rachel's Vineyard retreat groups. Yes, that Rachel's Vineyard, the one funded by that big pro-life group, the Catholic Church, even though this always has been the way it's been done, for 10 years:

"Each [retreat weekend] exercise is an invitation to explore your feelings and emotions. Nothing will be forced on you at any time. The process is respective of different faith traditions and cultural heritage. You are invited to share with the group, but you can also process this experience privately within the silence of your own heart. There will be no effort to proselytize or convert you to Christianity, but simply an invitation to dialogue with your creator through a very personal and intimate process."

So it's now 355 retreats to date in 2005, worldwide. And the year isn't even half over.

Call their (ten-years-running) toll-free, confidential, national hotline 1-877-HOPE-4-ME (1-877 467 3463) or check out the Rachel's Vineyard weekend retreat sites nearest you. If you have questions, please see their confidential e-mail page. There's probably somebody there whose life sounds a lot like yours, just waiting to listen and to provide answers to your questions.

By the way, the "RV retreat manual has been translated into Spanish, Portuguese and Russian, and translations into French, Dutch, Japanese and Chinese are forthcoming."

BTW, August 15, World Youth Day 2005, Cologne, Germany. Be there, Aloha: Theresa Burke will be making a presentation to youth about Rachel’s Vineyard.